Dishware hold down plate and method

ABSTRACT

A flat or arcuate round disc is formed of a plastic, nylon or rubber-like material having a stiff major surface and a central bore to fit over the central hub of an upper rotatable, slidably mounted rack of an automatic dishwasher in which have been placed dirty items of lightweight plastic or glass dishware. The central hub of the rack is inserted into the central bore of the disc as the disc is lowered into the rack permitting the disc to contact the items of dishware and hold them, under the force of gravity alone, from dislocation or damage due to the impingement of the cleansing water sprays. The disc has sufficient rigidity and thermal resistivity to retain its stiffness and shape during all cycles of operation. The disc is optionally formed with a plurality of holes to facilitate passage of water and heat. For ease in loading and unloading the upper rack is pulled out, the central hub is withdrawn from the disc by lifting the disc, and the disc is supported clear of the upper rack by inserting a support arm, from which the rack is supported, through the central bore of the disc and then resting the disc on the support arm. The disc is automatically returned to its original position over the central hub by simply pushing the rack into the dishwasher.

United States Patent 1191 Opal [ 1 DISHWARE HOLD DOWN PLATE AND METHOD [76] Inventor: Jacques E. Opal, 759 E. Tenth St.,

Brooklyn, NY. 11230 [22] Filed: Nov. 21, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 417,739

1521 us. 01 134/25 A; 134/137; 134/165; 134/170; 211/74; 211/162 51 1111.01. B08B 3/02; B0813 11/02;

A47B 73/00; A47F 5/00 [58] Field of Search 134/25 A, 25 R, 23, 166 R, 134/170, 165, 201,156, 157,135,137;

Primary ExaminerS. Leon Bashore Assistant ExaminerRichard V. Fisher Attorney, Agent, or FirmKenyon & Kenyon Reilly Carr & Chapin 14 1 Aug. 26, 1975 5 7 ABSTRACT A flat or arcuate round disc is formed of a plastic, nylon or rubber-like material having a stiff major surface and a central bore to fit over the central hub of an upper rotatable, slidably mounted rack of an automatic dishwasher in which have been placed dirty items of lightweight plastic or glass dishware. The central hub of the rack is inserted into the central bore of the disc as the disc is lowered into the rack permitting the disc to contact the items of dishware and hold them, under the force of gravity alone, from dislocation or damage due to the impingement of the cleansing water sprays. The disc has sufficient rigidity and thermal resistivity to retain its stiffness and shape during all cycles of operation. The disc is optionally formed with a plurality of holes to facilitate passage of water and heat. For ease in loading and unloading the upper rack is pulled out, the central hub is withdrawn from the disc by lifting the disc, and the disc is sup ported clear of the upper rack by inserting a support arm, from which the rack is supported, through the central bore of the disc and then resting the disc on the support arm. The disc is automatically returned to its original position over the central hub by simply pushing the rack into the dishwasher.

29 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures I I 1 IIIIIIIII III PATEm gAunzslsvs SHEET 5 OF Vl/A L/Il/A VA Y/l/Ail/ m m a W m a I w DISHWARE HOLD DOWN PLATE AND METHOD DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a support for use in combination with a washing apparatus and to an improved dishwashing process.

More specifically the invention relates to a fiat or arcuate disc for holding down dishware, particularly plastic cups and saucers, which are placed upside down in the upper, rotatable-type, pull-out racks of ordinary household automatic dishwashers and the use of the disc in a method of washing dishes involving the use of sprays of water.

Further, the invention relates to an article supporting or holding disc which operates by gravity alone and one which is also easily raised out of position to facilitate loading and unloading and automatically lowered into position for supporting or holding the articles.

2. Prior Art Some brands of modern dishwashers have a top rack rotatable on a central hub which is supported by a carriage which is slidably mounted in a track fixed to the inside top surface of the dishwasher. Such racks are pulled out and rotated for easy loading and unloading. As a purposeful dishwasher design feature, during operation a stream of water is directed at an angle against the items of dishware in the upper rack under a high enough pressure to cause rotation of the rack during the washing and cleansing cycles thereby permitting all dishware in the upper rack to be cleaned. In these types of upper racks, cups are normally placed upside down around the central hub for cleaning purposes. A persistent problem in this type of construction is that the pressure of the water stream is normally strong enough to cause the cups to turn rightside up during washing and fill up with water. Consequently, not only do the cups themselves fail to clean properly but also during the drying cycle or during unloading the uprighted cups sometimes tip over and spill dirty water on the already cleaned dishes below. The problem is aggravated with lightweight plastic cups such as Melmac," to the point that manufacturers specify that such dishes are not to be washed in the top rotating racks of their dishwashers.

A correlative problem is the uprighting of lightweight glassware, such as expensive china cups or crystal glasses, with the resultant risk of loss due to breakage. Therefore, not only manufacturers specify in their dishwasher instruction manuals that such lightweight expensive china cups or the like shall not be washed in their dishwashers having the aforesaid type of rotating upper baskets.

Consequently, households equipped with such dishwashers must wash the above types of dishware by hand.

Attempts have been made in the past to try to solve the general problem of securing, supporting or holding dishware in a rack of a dishwasher against movement during cleaning.

Brown US. Pat. No. 729,536 discloses a perforated follower-plate spring loaded to hold down dishes placed on a conicallyshaped bottom screen. The follower-plate is preferably formed ofa heavy wire screen, but may be made of other suitable construction or material having the requisite interstices or preforations.

The follower'plate functions to engage the dishes under the pressure of the spring and prevent the dishes from being displaced during washing thus obviating any tendency to breakage. See also, Cavano US. Pat. No. 1,904,969, .Walker US. Pat. No. 2,615,457 and Mc- Millan U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,073 for disclosures of additional devices for holding dishes against movement during washing.

Mason US. Pat. No. 3,612,285 discloses an upper retangular shaped dish rack for a modern dishwasher for supporting articles during washing and a retainer means. The retainer bar I4 is pivotably mounted to the rack and has a V-shaped scalloped cross bar design, the retainer bar functioning by gravity to hold fragile stemware, plastic cups and glasses and the like against displacement by the water stream thereby obviating dam-- age and improper washing action.

None of these solutions are feasible for use with lightweight plastic or glassware in the rotating type of upper racks of modern dishwashers. Thus, in view of this prior art there remains a need for such a device. Applicants invention satisfies that need and provides an improved dishwashing method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is a plastic hold down disc or plate adapted for use with the upper, slide-out type, rotatable rack of automatic dishwashers. The disc or plate is formed with a flat or arcuate, stiff, thermally resistant major surface having a central bore which fits over the central hub of the upper rack. With inverted pieces of dishware in the upper rack and spaced around the central hub,the disc is lowered over the central hub inserting the central hub of the rack through the central bore of the disc whereupon the major surface of the disc contains the items of dishware. The gross weight of the disc is sufficient to overcome by the force of gravity alone the lifting force of the cleansing water sprays. The disc thus holds the items of dishware in position during the washing cycle to prevent them from being uprighted or damaged by the water spray.

The objects of the present invention are as follows:

I. To provide a hold down plate which will prevent movement of lightweight plastic dishware or china during washing.

2. To provide an improved method of washing lightweight plastic or china dishware.

3. To provide a dishware hold down plate which can be easily moved clear of the upper basket for unobstructed loading and unloading.

4. To provide a dishware hold down plate which is automatically returned to its operational position by simply pushing in the upper rack to its fully stored position. Additional objects are set forth in the descriptions of the drawings and preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 A perspective view of a typical under the counter dishwasher showing the upper rotatable rack and the hold down disc in place.

FIG. 2 A perspective view showing the upper rack pulled out and the hold down disc resting on the support arm.

FIG. 3 A perspective view showing the hold down disc in position holding down dishware in the upper rack.

FIG. 4 A partial sectional view of FIG. 2 th the upper rack pulled out and the hold down plate resting on the support arm facilitating loading and unloading.

FIG. 5 A partial sectional view similar to FIG. 4 demonstrating the coaction between the disc and a stationary portion of the dishwasher as the upper rack is pushed in withdrawing the support arm from the central bore of the disc thereby automatically positioning the disc with respect to the central hub of the rack.

FIG. 6 A partial sectional view of the upper rack with the hold down disc in place over the central hub preventing the dishware from being dislocated due to the water spray. An alternate form of the disc is shown in dotted lines.

FIG. 7 An exploded perspective view of the upper rack showing the slidable mounting of the support arm in tracks fixed to the roof of the dishwasher and the manner of rotatably supporting the rack at its central hub.

FIG. 8 A plan view of one form of the hold down plate showing the holes therein.

FIG. 9 A sectional view of another form of the hold down disc which is flat.

FIG. 10 A sectional view of another form of the hold down disc which is arcuate shaped and has an enlarged rim of material around the circumference of the disc and showing optional holes.

FIG. 11 A plan view of another form of the disc showing radial ribs extending along the upper surface of the disc and an optional annular raised ridge on said upper surface.

FIG. 12 A sectional view of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The cabinet 12 houses a standard automatic dishwasher well known in the trade and shown generally at 10. Dishwasher 10 has a hinged door 14 for front loading. Inside the cabinet 12 are two racks 16, 18. Rack 16 is the lower rack, is normally rectangular shaped and is slidable on rollers resting on shoulders (not shown) within cabinet 12 so that it can be pulled out of the cabinet for easy loading and unloading. Rack 18, the upper rack, is rotatable about a central support and is slidably mounted within cabinet 12 so that it too can be pulled out of the cabinet for loading and unloading, as more fully described below.

Rack 18 is preferably round and constructed of wire covered with rubber or plastic as is well known in the trade. Rack 18 is rotatably supported at central hub 20 which is surrounded by at least one circular row of upstanding or vertical ribs 22 which are radially spaced from the central hub sufficiently to permit articles of dirty dishware to be placed inverted around the hub between the hub and the row of ribs 22. (FIG. 3)

Support assembly, generally shown as 30 in FIG. 7, comprises an arm 32 having depending pin 34 which is inserted through the central hub 20 and secured thereto by a standard bushing, bearing and cotter pin to provide a rotatable mounting for the rack 18. Arm 32 which is disposed generally horizontally is supported by two pairs of axles and rollers 36, 38 slidably mounted within a pair of tracks 40 secured. as by screws. to the underside 42 of the top wall of the cabinet 12. Arm 32, between the rollers 36, 38 and the pin 34, has a bend 44 which provides a clearance between arm 32 and the underside 42 of the top wall of the cabi= net 12, the purpose of which is more iully described below. Thus, rack 18 is rotatable about pin 34 and is slidable on rollers 36, 38 in tracks 40 to permit the rack to be moved inwardly or outwardly with respect to the cabinet 12. Stop 46 limits outward travel of the rack 18 to prevent it from falling out of the dishwasher.

As is well known in the trade, dishwasher l0 employs the standard dishwasher cycles of washing, rinsing and drying. To accomplish these steps there is provision for dispensing soap in the water and for spraying the water onto the dishes. Commonly a lower spray arm (not shown) is provided for spraying water 19 onto dishes in both the lower rack 16 and the upper rack 18. Additionally an upper spray tube 21 is optionally provided which sprays the underside of the dishes in the upper rack 18 and simultaneously causes the upper rack to rotate due to the reaction from the impingement of the water spray on the dishes. As the rack 18 rotates it brings the dishes under another optional upper spray arm 23 mounted close to the underside 42 of top wall of cabinet 12, which ann sprays water onto the tops of the dishes in both the upper rack and lower rack. Also a heater (not shown) is provided to heat the water and to dry the dishes. Ordinary water temperature during washing is about l40-l60F. and the normal drying temperature is perhaps slightly higher at about 180F. Water pressure in the range l5 to psi are normally encountered.

Rack 18 is further adapted to receive a disc, shown generally as S0 in FIGS. 4-12, which functions as a hold down plate for the inverted dishware placed within the upper rack between the central hub 20 and the first circular row of ribs 22. Disc 50 has a flat major surface 52 which contacts the aforesaid inverted dishware items and a central bore 54 of a diameter which fits freely over the central hub 20 of rack 18.

The disc 50 may be flat (FIG. 9) or arcuate (FIG. 10) and optionally may have an enlarged rim 51 (FIGS. 6 and 10) located at the circumferential edge of the major surface 52. Optionally the disc 50 may have radial ribs 53 (FIGS. 11 and 12) or annular raised ridges 55 (FIGS. 11 and 12) extending along the upper surface of the disc. The rim 51, ribs 53 and ridges 55 act as stifieners for the disc. During installation disc 50 is put in place in rack 18 with hub 20 inserted through central bore 54 prior to securing hub 20 to pin 34 with its bushings, bearing and cotter pin mounting, shown generally as 35 in FIG. 7. Thus, once installed, disc 50 cannot be removed from the dishwasher except by disconnecting the rack 18 from its mounting. There are no springs, rods or other means which force disc 50 against the items of dishware. Rather, disc 50 holds down the dishware as a result of the force of gravity alone.

The heart of the present invention is the disc 50 and the manner in which it cooperates with the rack 18 and the dishwasher structure to provide an improved dishwashing method. The gross weight of disc 50 is sulficient to overcome by the force of gravity alone the lifting force of the water spray so that the dishware spaced around the hub are contacted by the disc and are prevented from being uprighted or damaged due to the force of the water spray.

Disc or plate 50 is preferably made from plastic but may also be made from nylon or a heavy rubber-like material or other noncorrosive material or metal such as stainless steel. The material oi construction should not be affected by the caustic nature of modern detergents. Preferably the disc is molded but may be made from other methods as well.

The overall disc is generally rigid and the material from which it is made must be a thermally resistant material. Disc 50 is sufficiently stiff to retain its shape without bending substantially as a result of the operating conditions within the dishwasher, such as, the impact force of the water or the absence of one or more items of dishware around the central hub. The thermal resistance of disc 50 is sufficient to permit the disc to retain its stiffness without warping or otherwise distorting as a result of the operating conditions within the dishwasher, such as, the heat of the water spray or the heat of the drying cycle. Preferably the material from which the disc is made is not thermoplastic (does not become pliable or lose the aforesaid stiffness) below temperatures of about 180F.

The outside diameter of the plate 50 is less than the diameter of the first circular row of vertical ribs 22. Thus the disc fits over the central hub and is freely movable up and down within the area of the rack bordered by the first row of ribs 22.

The stiffness of the overall disc is affected by the thickness of the disc. Obviously the disc can be made so thin that it will loose its shape and be too flexible. However, it is desirable to make the disc as thin as possible to keep costs down. Therefore, the use of a circumferential ridge S1 or a radial rib 53 or an annular ridge 55 acts as a stiffener for the disc to prevent loss of shape and distortion while permitting the disc to be made very thin. Thus the disc may be flexible yet still be sufficiently rigid to operate as a satisfactory disc as aforesaid. One skilled in the art could adjust the various dimensions of the disc discussed above to make a satisfactory disc.

The thickness of disc 50, as more fully described below, is sufficient to permit the disc to be easily lifted upwardly with respect to the central hub and moved horizontally over the arm 32 so that the inside periphery of bore 54 may rest on the arm 32 and is between the arm 32 and the underside 42 of the top wall of the cabinet. There is sufficient clearance to put the disc in this position due to the bend in support arm 32. Thus, the disc is easily positionable with respect to the rack 18 for easy loading and unloading of the rack without interference from the disc.

Further, plate 50 may be formed with a pluralty of holes 56 through its major surface to facilitate the passage of water and heat, increase drainage of water from the disc, and to reduce the lifting force of high pressure water sprays. The holes may be either randomly or geometrically located within the major surface, but are preferably symmetrically spaced therein to equalize the weight distribution of the plate. The aggregate of the size and location of the holes is such that the overall surface area of the major surface is sufficient to permit contacting and holding each item of dishware of the same height spaced around the central hub at any point within the outside dimension of the plate.

Applicant has found that a disc 50 having the following physical characteristics works satisfactorily:

Outside diameter: 11 kinches.

Thickness: 3/16 inches.

Central Bore Diameter: l-"/s inches.

Material: plastic Rigidity: stiff under operational water pressures of a Kenmore (TM) dishwasher Model 587.720510 and uneven or unbalanced loading conditions.

Thermal Resistance: Remains stifi' under operational temperatures of a Kenmore (TM) dishwasher Model 587.720510.

Number of holes 73 holes of inch diameter holes of 7/16 inch diameter Gross weight 5.5 oz.

Another sample having the outside diameter and central bore diameter as aforesaid weighed about 8 02., was made from 6 inch thick Acrylite (TM) plastic without any holes and was found to be satisfactory. It was perfectly flat in shape with no ribs, ridges or rims. The stiffness was satisfactory under operational conditions. A lighter weight disc would have also worked well.

The method of washing dishes with the plate 50, starting with a closed empty dishwasher, is as follows:

First the door is opened and the top basket 18 is pulled out, the support 30 and rollers 36, 38 riding in tracks 40 forwardly until hitting stop 46. At this point disc 50 is resting on the bottom of empty rack 18 with the central hub 20 inserted through the central bore 54 of the disc, positioning the disc centrally of the rack 18.

The disc 50 is then removed from contact with the bottom of the empty upper rack by lifting it vertically thereby withdrawing the central hub from the disc. The disc is then supported clear of the central hub to facilitate loading by inserting the support arm 32 through the central bore 54 of the disc and resting the inner periphery of central bore 54 of the disc on the support arm 32. (FIG. 4). These latter two steps are accomplished by simply continuing to lift the disc beyond the point where the rear top surface of the disc contacts the underside of the support are 32 and fully withdrawing the hub 20 from the disc. Such continued lifting results in the front portion of the disc being raised higher than the rear portion of the disc relative to the support 32. See FIG. 4. At this point the disc can be moved inwardly (relative to the dishwasher) over the support arm 32 inserting the arm 32 through the central bore 54 of the disc. With the disc resting on the arm 32, the upper rack can be conveniently rotated and loaded without interference from the disc. Dishware are placed inverted around the central hub.

When the dishwasher is fully loaded, the disc is then again positioned relative to the central hub of the upper rack in order to function as a hold down device for the dishware surrounding the hub 20. (FlG. 3) This step is accomplished automatically simply by pushing the upper rack fully inwardly of the dishwasher. (FIG. 5) This action slides the arm 32 inwardly of the dishwasher while contacting the disc against a stationary portion 58 of the dishwasher (i.e., the front edge of the dishwasher) thereby automatically withdrawing the arm 32 from the disc. When the arm 32 is fully withdrawn from the central bore 54 of the disc, the disc falls by its own weight into the rack 18 and hub 20 is again inserted into the central bore 54 of the disc positioning the disc relative to the dishware in the rack (as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 5). Alternative to the aforesaid steps which automatically position the disc over the central hub of the rack 18 by pushing in the basket 18, one can simply perfonn the steps directly by removing the disc from the arm 32 and centering the central bore 54 over the hub 20, permitting the disc to fall into rack 18 into contact with the inverted dishware t erein. Thereafter the upper rack is pushed fully into the dishwasher for washing.

Having positioned the disc in the upper rack, the disc contacts and holds the inverted dishware in the upper rack in position under solely the force of gravity preventing dislocation of the dishware by the water spray during the washing cycle. The door is then closed and the dishes are washed and dried.

To unload the washed dishes the above steps are repeated noting that when the rack 18 is pulled out, the disc will be in position in rack 18 in contact with the dishware in the rack. (FIG. 3) The disc 50 is lifted withdrawing hub 20. The disc is moved rearwardly inserting arm 32 through the disc. The disc is rested on arm 32 while the rack 18 is unloaded. (FIGS. 2, 4) Finally the empty rack 18 is pushed inwardly automatically repositioning the disc over the central hub 20 and permitting it to drop into the upper rack. The door is then closed, and the dishwasher is secured. Alternative to pushing in the rack 18 empty, the rack may be reloaded with dirty dishware and then pushed in for another washing cycle.

It is noted that the disc 50 functions best as a hold down disc when the area of rack 18 encircling the hub 20 between the hub 20 and the circular row of ribs 22 is fully loaded and is loaded with items of dishware all of the same height, i.e., that portion of rack 18 is full and even-loaded. For partial loads, the items of dishware can be evenly distributed in that portion of rack 18 and disc 50 will contact and hold the items. If uneven loads are used, i.e., the items of dishware are not all of the same height, when the lightweight r expensive pieces should be so placed within the upper rack 18 so as to insure that they are contacted and held by the disc 50 against movement during washing.

I claim: 1. The method of washing dishware in an automatic dishwasher, the dishwasher including a hold down disc, an upper rotatable rack having a central hub and adapted to receive inverted items of dishware around the central hub, the central hub being mounted to a support arm slidably supported within the dishwasher, and

a water spray comprising the steps of inserting the central hub of the upper rack through the hold down disc to position the hold down disc with respect to dishware in the upper rack,

holding inverted dishware in the upper rack in position under solely the force of gravity by contacting the dishware with the disc to prevent dislocation of the dishware by the water spray during the washing cycle;

washing the dishware;

after washing removing the hold down disc from contact with the dishware in upper rack to withdraw the central hub from the hold down disc by lifting the disc with respect to the central hub, and supporting the hold down disc clear of the central hub and dishware in the upper rack to facilitate loading or unloading the upper rack by inserting 6 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of drying the dishware.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the inserting step includes moving the disc over the support arm.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of, prior to supporting, sliding the upper rack outwardly from the dishwasher.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of unloading the rack.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of positioning the hold down disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack, and

inserting the central hub through the hold down disc.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the positioning step includes withdrawing the support arm from the hold down disc to automatically position the disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the withdrawing step includes sliding the support arm inwardly of the dishwasher while contacting the disc against a stationary portion of the dishwasher.

9.. The method of claim 8 wherein the sliding step includes moving the upper rack inwardly of the dishwasher.

10. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of reloading the rack with dirty dishware.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of positioning the hold down disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack for repeating the first aforesaid inserting step.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the positioning step includes withdrawing the support arm from the hold down disc to automatically position the disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the withdrawing step includes sliding the support arm inwardly of the dishwasher while contacting the disc against a stationary portion of the dishwasher.

l4. The method of claim 13 wherein the sliding step includes moving the upper rack inwardly of the dishwasher.

15. ln combination with an automatic dishwasher upper rack having an area around a central hub to receive inverted dishware items, the rack positioned in the path of an upward directed water spray and supported at the central hub by a support slidably mounted in a horizontal track fixed to the inside of the dishwasher having a top wall, a hold down plate comprising a major surface of a thermally resistant material for contacting the inverted dishware in the upper rack and having a central bore of a diameter to fit freely over the central hub of the upper rack,

a gross weight which is sufficient to overcome by the force of gravity alone the lifting force of the water spray and a rigidity which is characterized by that degree of stifi'ness which is sufficient to permit the plate to retain its shape without distorting substantially as a result of operating conditions within the dishwasher whereby whereby dishware spaced around the hub are held in position during the dishwashing process by the major surface and are prevented from being uprighted or damaged by the water spray, the plate having a thickness which is sufficient to permit the plate to be easily lifted upwardly with respect to the central hub and moved horizontally over the slidably mounted support so that a portion of the plate rests on the support and is between the support and the top wall of the dishwasher whereby the plate is easily positionable with respect to the rack for easy loading and unloading of the rack without interference with the plate.

16. The plate of claim wherein the major surface is flat or arcuate.

17. The plate of claim 16 wherein the major surface is a round disc.

18. The plate of claim 17 having a central bore diam eter of l "/8 inches, an outside diameter of l l b inches, a thickness of 3/16 inches, a major surface material of plastic, the rigidity of the major surface being sufi'icient to withstand bending under the impact of a water spray of 15 to 120 lbs/in, the thermal resistance of the major surface being sufficient to permit the plate to retain its rigidity without distorting at temperatures below about 180F.

19. The plate of claim 15 further comprising a plu ality of raised ribs extending radially along a surfacelof the plate for adding stiffness to the plate.

20. The plate of claim 15 further comprising a dircumferential or annular ridge or rim of the material for l l l adding stiffness to the plate.

21. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is plasno.

22. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is ny- Ion.

23. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is rubber.

24. The plate of claim 15 the upper rack having a row of vertical ribs spaced around the central hub, the plate being of an outside dimension less than the dimension of the row of ribs so that the disc fits over the central hub and is freely movable up and down within the area of the rack bordered by the row of ribs.

25. The plate of claim 15 further comprising the major surface having a plurality of holes therethrough.

26. The plate of claim 25 further comprising the aggregate of the size and location of the holes being such that the major surface has sufficient surface area to contact and hold each item of dishware of the same height spaced around the central hub at any point. within the outside dimension of the plate.

27. The plate of claim 26 wherein the holes are randomly located in the major surface.

28. The plate of claim 27 wherein the holes are geometrically located in the major surface.

29. The plate of claim 15 wherein the thermal resistance is such that the plate retains the said rigidity at temperatures below about F.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 33 4 DATED August 26, |NVENTOR(5) I Jacques E. Opal It is certified that error appears in the abbve-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 7 Line 34-- "when" should be "chen' Signed and Sealed this twenty-fifth D 3 Of No vember 1 9 75 [SE AL] A (test:

RUTH C. MASON Arresting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN (umml'ssinnvr of Parents and Trademarks 

1. THE METHOD OF WASHING DISHWARE IN AN AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER, THE DISHWASHER INCLUDING A HOLD DOWN DISC, AN UPPER ROTATABLE RACK HAVING A CENTRAL HUB AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE INVERTED ITEMS OF DISHWARE AROUND THE CENTRAL HUB, THE CENTRAL HUB BEING MOUNTED TO A SUPPORT ARM SLIDABLY SUPPORTED WITIN THE DISHWASHER, AND A WATER SPRAY COMPRISING THE STEPS OF INSERTING THE CENTRAL HUB OF THE UPPER RACK THROUGH THE HOLD DOWN DISC TO POSITION THE HOLD DOWN DISC WITH RESPECT TO DISHWARE IN THE UPPER RACK, HOLDING INVERTED DISHWARE IN THE UPPER RACK IN POSITION UNDER SOLELY THE FORCE OF GRAVITY BY CONTACTING THE DISHWARE WITH THE DISC TO PREVENT DISLOCATION OF THE DISHWARE BY THE WATER SPRAY DURING THE WASHING CYCE, WASHING THE DISHWARE, AFTER WASHING REMOVING THE HOLD DOWN DISC FROM CONTACT WITH THE DISHWARE IN UPPER RACK TO WITHDRAW THE CENTRAL HUB FROM THE HOLD DOWN DISC BY LIFTING THE DISC WITH RESPECT TO THE CENTRAL HUB, AND SUPPORING THE HOLD DOWN DISC CLEAR OF THE CENTRAL HUB AND DISHWARE IN THE UPPER RACK TO FACILITATE LOADING OR UNLOADING THE UPPER RACK BY INSERTING THE SUPPORT ARM THROUGH THE HOLD DOWN DISC AND RESTING THE HOLD DOWN DISC ON THE SUPPORT ARM WHILE LOADING OR UNLOADING THE DISHWASHER,
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of drying the dishware.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the inserting step includes moving the disc over the support arm.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of, prior to supporting, sliding the upper rack outwardly from the dishwasher.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step of unloading the rack.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of positioning the hold down disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack, and inserting the central hub through the hold down disc.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the positioning step includes withdrawing the support arm from the hold down disc to automatically position the disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein the withdrawing step includes sliding the support arm inwardly of the dishwasher while contacting the disc against a stationary portion of the dishwasher.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the sliding step includes moving the upper rack inwardly of the dishwasher.
 10. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of reloading the rack with dirty dishware.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of positioning the hold down disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack for repeating the first aforesaid inserting step.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the positioning step includes withdrawing the support arm from the hold down disc to automatically position the disc relative to the central hub of the upper rack.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the withdrawing step includes sliding the support arm inwardly of the dishwasher while contacting the disc against a stationary portion of the dishwasher.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the sliding step includes moving the upper rack inwardly of the dishwasher.
 15. IN COMBINATION WITH AN AUTOMATIC DISHWASHER UPPER RACK HAVING AN AREA AROUNG A CENTRAL HUB TO RECEIVE INVERTED DISHWARE ITEMS, THE RACK POSITIONED IN THE PATH OF AN UPWARD DIRECTED WATER SPRAY AND SUPPORTED AT THE CENTRAL HUB BY A SUPPORT SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN A HORIZONTAL TRACK FIXED TO THE INSIDE OF THE DISHWASHER HAVING A TOP WALL, A HOLD DOWN PLATE COMPRISING A MAJOR SURFACE OF A THERMALLY RESISTANT MATERIAL FOR CONTACTING THE INVERTED DISHWARE IN THE UPPER RACK AND HAVING
 16. The plate of claim 15 wherein the major surface is flat or arcuate.
 17. The plate of claim 16 wherein the major surface is a round disc.
 18. The plate of claim 17 having a central bore diameter of 1 7/8 inches, an outside diameter of 11 1/2 inches, a thickness of 3/16 inches, a major surface material of plastic, the rigidity of the major surface being sufficient to withstand bending under the impact of a water spray of 15 to 120 lbs/in2, the thermal resistance of the major surface being sufficient to permit the plate to retain its rigidity without distorting at temperatures below about 180*F.
 19. The plate of claim 15 further comprising a plurality of raised ribs extending radially along a surface of the plate for adding stiffness to the plate.
 20. The plate of claim 15 further comprising a circumferential or annular ridge or rim of the material for adding stiffness to the plate.
 21. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is plastic.
 22. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is nylon.
 23. The plate of claim 15 wherein the material is rubber.
 24. The plate of claim 15 the upper rack having a row of vertical ribs spaced around the central hub, the plate being of an outside dimension less than the dimension of the row of ribs so that the disc fits over the central hub and is freely movable up and down within the area of the rack bordered by the row of ribs.
 25. The plate of claim 15 further comprising the major surface having a plurality of holes therethrough.
 26. The plate of claim 25 further comprising the aggregate of the size and location of the holes being such that the major surface has sufficient surface area to contact and hold each item of dishware of the same height spaced around the central hub at any point within the outside dimension of the plate.
 27. The plate of claim 26 wherein the holes are randomly located in the major surface.
 28. The plate of claim 27 wherein the holes are geometrically located in the major surface.
 29. The plate of claim 15 wherein the thermal resistance is such that the plate retains the said rigidity at temperatures below about 180*F. 